More than a dozen Raiders players sat on a bench with their arms linked during the national anthem ahead of their Sunday game against Washington.

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This comes after at least 150 NFL players knelt during the "Star-Spangled Banner" before their respective games.

The Oakland Raiders are one of the teams that has not released a statement about kneeling during the national anthem.

Auburn native and rookie Eddie Vanderdoes was one of the Raiders players that sat on the bench before the game.

The cameras also caught Quarterback Derek Carr standing before kickoff against Washington.

After the game, Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio said his players wanted to stay in the locker room during the anthem, but they would have forfeited the coin toss, their second-half options and could have faced a 15-yard unsportsmanlike contact penalty.

"If they didn't have the kickoff so close to the anthem, we probably would have stayed in instead of going out. But that's the way we handled it," Del Rio said.

"I love that group of men. I respect that group of men," Del Rio said. "We're unified. And there's some guys that feel strongly about taking a stance. And I think over the last several days I think that became apparent that there's nothing wrong with expressing yourself in a peaceful manner like they've done."

NFL players used the national anthem to show their defiance to President Donald Trump's criticism, with at least 150 players kneeling or sitting in protest and one team staying in the locker room.

Most teams in the early afternoon games locked arms in solidarity. At least three team owners joined their players.

More than 150 players sat or knelt, the form of protest started last season by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick is now a free agent, and supporters believe teams have avoided signing him because of his protest.

A handful of Miami Dolphins players wore black T-shirts supporting free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick during pregame warm-ups on Sunday. The shirts had "#IMWITHKAP" written in bold white lettering on the front.

Kaepernick was the first athlete to refuse to stand during the national anthem as a protest. This season, no team has signed him, and some supporters believe NFL owners are avoiding him because of the controversy.

"We have great people representing our country, especially our soldiers, our first responders, and they should be treated with respect," Trump said before boarding Air Force One. "And when you get on your knee and you don't respect the American flag or the anthem, that's not being treated with respect."

Commissioner Roger Goodell, who has taken heat for Kaepernick's struggle to find a team, quickly condemned Trump's comments.

"The NFL and our players are at our best when we help create a sense of unity in our country and our culture. There is no better example than the amazing response from our clubs and players to the terrible natural disasters we've experienced over the last month," Goodell said. "Divisive comments like these demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL, our great game and all of our players, and a failure to understand the overwhelming force for good our clubs and players represent in our communities."